Naples couple with Michigan business plead guilty to U.S. tax fraud conspiracy

NAPLES - A Collier County couple with a business in Michigan pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count each of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government through tax fraud.

Anthony Chaudhuri and Margaret Chaudhuri were indicted in 2011. They have a residence in Naples, but their business was based at various locations in Ann Arbor, Mich., federal officials said.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service said in a joint press release today that the Chaudhuris owned and operated a hospital inventory control software company called Ariel Computing and other names, including ADI.

According to court records, between 1996 and 2008, the Chaudhuris withheld about $888,353 in employment taxes from Ariel Computing employees but never submitted about $704,488 of those withheld taxes to the IRS.

Instead, the Chaudhuris diverted the money and spent it for personal use, the agencies’ statement said.

A sentencing date hasn’t been set but federal officials said each faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge.

The original indictment accused the Chaudhuris of one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, 11 counts of failure to pay employment taxes and one count of obstructing the IRS, according to a 2011 Department of Justice press release.